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El Centro
—  city  —
Imperial County Courthouse in El Centro
Location in Imperial County and the state of California
El Centro Location in the United States
Coordinates: 32°47′31″N 115°33′47″W / 32.79194°N 115.56306°W / 32.79194; -115.56306Coordinates: 32°47′31″N 115°33′47″W / 32.79194°N 115.56306°W / 32.79194; -115.56306
Country	United States
State	California
Incorporated	April 16, 1908
Area[1]
• city	11.099 sq mi (28.746 km2)
• Land	11.081 sq mi (28.700 km2)
• Water	0.018 sq mi (0.046 km2)  0.16%
Elevation	-39 ft (-12 m)
Population (2010)
• city	42,598
• Density	3,800/sq mi (1,500/km2)
• Urban	56,006
• Metro	163,972
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	92243-92244
Area code(s)	760
FIPS code	06-21782
GNIS feature ID	1656501
Website	www.cityofelcentro.org

El Centro is a city in and county seat of Imperial County, the largest city in the Imperial Valley and the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban area and principal city of the El Centro metropolitan area which encompasses all of Imperial County. El Centro is also the largest American city to lie entirely below sea level (- 50 feet). The city, located in the far southeastern corner of California, is conveniently near the major Southern California cities of San Diego and Los Angeles to its west as well as Phoenix and Tucson to its east.

Founded in 1906 W. F. Holt and C.A. Barker purchased the land on which El Centro was eventually built for about forty dollars an acre and invested $100,000 in improvements. As one historian of Valley life put it, "in only five months El Centro went from a barley field to a city...". It is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries. There are also two international border crossings nearby for commercial and noncommercial vehicles. The city's population was 42,598 at the 2010 census, up from 37,835 at the 2000 census. As of February, 2012, the El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked last, 372nd, with the highest unemployment rate among American cities, at 26.7%.^[2] In 2012, El Centro was named the worst place to live in America by Frugalzeitgeist.com .^[3]

Geography[link]

El Centro is located at 32°47′31″N 115°33′47″W / 32.79194°N 115.56306°W / 32.79194; -115.56306.^[4]

The Imperial Valley, as seen from the Space Shuttle. North is to the upper right. The Salton Sea is at the center. The US-Mexican border is a diagonal in the lower left.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.1 square miles (29 km²), of which over 99% is land.

El Centro is located in the Imperial Valley (considered locally as synonymous with Imperial County). The city is 50 feet (15 m) below sea level and the largest city in the United States below sea level. The Imperial Valley is in the Colorado Desert, an extension of the larger Sonoran Desert.

The agriculture industry's demand for water is supplied by canals diverting water from the nearby Colorado River. The Salton Sea was created after a 1905 flood from the Colorado River.^[5]

In this region, the geology is dominated by the transition of the tectonic plate boundary from rift to fault. The southernmost strands of the San Andreas Fault connect the northern-most extensions of the East Pacific Rise. Consequently, the region is subject to earthquakes, and the crust is being stretched, resulting in a sinking of the terrain over time.

History[link]

Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto

Spanish explorer Melchor Díaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around El Centro and Imperial Valley in 1540. The explorer Juan Bautista de Anza also explored the area in 1776^[6] (an elementary school in El Centro now bears his name). Years later, after the Mexican-American War, the northern half of the valley was annexed by the U.S., while the southern half remained under Mexican rule. Small scale settlement in natural aquifer areas occurred in the early 19th century (the present-day site of Mexicali), but most permanent settlement (Anglo Americans in the U.S. side, Mexicans in the other side) was after 1900.^[7]

Originally part of San Diego County, the Imperial Valley was settled by farmers once water from the Colorado River was diverted via canals to irrigate the desert valley floor.^[7][8]

In 1906, the land on which El Centro was later built was purchased by W. F. Holt and C.A. Barker.^[9]

By 1907 Imperial County was incorporated into California and by then much of the valley was successfully irrigated.^[7]

Before the town began, the railroad had established a station and named the place Cabarker.^[10] The name honored C.A. Barker, a friend of the landowner.^[10] The first post office in El Centro opened in 1905.^[10]

The City of El Centro was incorporated on April 16, 1908. By 1910, the population of the city had reached 1,610. By 1920 it was 5,646. One reason for this rapid growth was El Centro's becoming the county seat of Imperial County.^[9]

Population growth was slow, but accelerated in the 1930s, and again in the World War II era (1940s), despite that the city was hard hit by a 7.1 earthquake in July 1940.^[11][12]

By the mid-1940s, El Centro had become the second largest city in the Imperial Valley, with a population of about 11,000 people. El Centro had also become the location of the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) administrative offices.^[9]

Agriculture has been an important industry within El Centro since the 1940s, because of its strategic location near rail lines and Highways 80 and 99 – more than 35 growers and shippers still operate in El Centro. However, by the early 1980s the two largest employment sectors in El Centro were Government and Wholesale/Retail Trade, reflecting El Centro's emerging role as a regional administrative and commercial center.^[9]

Sites of interest[link]

The nearby Algodones Dunes, the largest dune field in the US, draws thousands of visitors each year, mainly for off-road driving. The Salton Sea lies 30 miles (48 km) north of El Centro, but water sport enthusiasts head to the Colorado River, 50 miles (80 km) to the east near Yuma, Arizona. The El Centro Naval Air Facility 10 miles (16 km) to the west is home to the annual Blue Angels flight maneuvering event. Stark Field is home of a minor league baseball team El Centro Imperials of the Arizona Summer League. Mexico (the border city of Mexicali, Baja California) is 10 miles (16 km) away, which offers big city amenities like museums, a zoo and a sports/convention center.

Climate[link]

El Centro has an desert climate and is the southernmost desert city in the continental US with an elevation below sea-level. El Centro has over 350 days of sunshine and under 3 inches (76 mm) of rain annually. Winter temperatures are in the mid 70s to mid 80s with over-night lows in the low 50s to mid 40s. During summer days, the dry, desert heat can push temperatures well into the 100s, while the nights stay in the low 80s to mid 70s. Average annual humidity is 24%.^{[citation needed]} Snow is almost totally unknown in the town, except for a very brief falling of sleet mixed with hail during a shower in December 1967.

Economy[link]

Aerial photo of part of the farmlands, desert, and mountains of Imperial County, Salton Sea, California (2008)

As of 2009 the employment of El Centro residents is dominated by the local government, California state government, and federal government. Two nearby prisons and the U.S. Border Patrol provide employment; The Economist states that the prisons and border patrol were "relatively untouched" by the late-2000s recession. The El Centro area has many farming plots, where carrots, lettuce, and other crops are produced, and therefore the El Centro economy is subject to seasonal variations like other farming areas. Between November and March in winter periods, El Centro-area farmers harvest lettuce for $8–10 per hour. During March the harvest moves to the north and is no longer in El Centro; in previous eras farmers migrated, while in the first decade of the 21st century many collect unemployment benefits during the summer.^[14]

El Centro is surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland that has transformed the desert into one of the most productive farming regions in California with an annual crop production of over $1 billion. Agriculture is the largest industry in Imperial County and accounts for 48% of all employment.^[15]

Being the commercial center of Imperial County, fifty percent of the jobs in the El Centro come from the service and retail sector.^[15]

A recent growth in the interest of Imperial County as a filming location, has spurred growth in servicing this industry.^[15] Due to its desert environment and proximity to Los Angeles, California, movies are sometimes filmed in the sand dunes outside the agricultural portions of the Imperial County. These have included Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Stargate, The Scorpion King, and Into the Wild. Additionally, portions of the 2005 film Jarhead were filmed here because of its similarity to the desert terrain of Iraq.^{[citation needed]}

El Centro during the late-2000s recession[link]

According to the Burea of Labor Statistics, as of April 30, 2009 the El Centro area had a 25.0% unemployment rate, the highest for a Metropolitan Area in the country.^[16] By August of that year, El Centro's unemployment rate was 27.5%, three times the overall United States unemployment rate of 9.7%. The Economist stated that the city is not the "centre of the Great Recession" like the figure would appear to indicate. While El Centro has a seasonal farming economy, there is still a fixed "baseline" unemployment at 12%. Timothy Kelly, the head of the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation, estimated that between 40,000 to 60,000 residents of Mexicali work in El Centro. The Economist added that there are likely many El Centro residents who work in Mexicali and collect unemployment benefits in El Centro; Ruben Duran, the city manager of El Centro, said that if the Mexicali jobs were factored into the employment rate, El Centro would have a normal employment rate. The manager of a job search agency called One Stop, said that about 3,000 people per month come into her agency; she says that some make a genuine effort to find jobs, while many do not have motivation to actually find a job, but to instead show proof that they tried to find a job. Kelly stated that unemployment fraud does not account for all of the issues with the El Centro area; he said that many residents have a lack of education and a lack of English language proficiency, so some of them cannot find jobs. The Economist added that the collapse of the housing market eliminated some construction jobs; the magazine countered that the scenario is true in many places in the United States.^[14] In December 2008 listed as No. 5 on Forbes.com's list of "The Top 10 Places in America Where Homes are Losing their Value Fastest" with 31.4% of homeowners owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.^[17] A national report on the effects of the "Great recession" of 2008/09 has found El Centro and the Imperial Valley in the top 5 poorest medium-sized cities in the U.S. in poverty and unemployment rates.^[18]

Culture[link]

While the majority of the residents in this community are Hispanic, there is a diverse population with a wide array of interests. In the winter residents race on nearby sand dunes using four wheel drive buggies. During the summer residents spend time indoors instead of outside. Spanish is a dominant language among residents and over the radio. Many area residents live in both the United States and Mexico and go across the border frequently.^[14]

Demographics[link]

2010[link]

The 2010 United States Census^[19] reported that El Centro had a population of 42,598. The population density was 3,838.1 people per square mile (1,481.9/km²). The racial makeup of El Centro was 25,376 (59.6%) White, 1,081 (2.5%) African American, 554 (1.3%) Native American, 965 (2.3%) Asian, 34 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 12,356 (29.0%) from other races, and 2,232 (5.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34,751 persons (81.6%).

The Census reported that 41,782 people (98.1% of the population) lived in households, 296 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 520 (1.2%) were institutionalized.

There were 13,108 households, out of which 6,257 (47.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,550 (50.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,845 (21.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 815 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 804 (6.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 58 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,458 households (18.8%) were made up of individuals and 1,004 (7.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.19. There were 10,210 families (77.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.64.

The population was spread out with 12,671 people (29.7%) under the age of 18, 4,803 people (11.3%) aged 18 to 24, 10,661 people (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 9,907 people (23.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,556 people (10.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.8 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.

There were 14,476 housing units at an average density of 1,304.3 per square mile (503.6/km²), of which 6,488 (49.5%) were owner-occupied, and 6,620 (50.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.2%. 21,429 people (50.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 20,353 people (47.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000[link]

As of the census^[20] of 2000, there were 37,835 people, 11,439 households, and 8,910 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,950.2 people per square mile (1,524.9/km²). There were 12,263 housing units at an average density of 1,280.3 per square mile (494.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.9% White, 3.2% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 41.7% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. 74.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,439 households out of which 47.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 18.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.2 and the average family size was 3.7.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,161, and the median income for a family was $36,910. Males had a median income of $36,753 versus $24,514 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,874. About 20.6% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

In 2009 the Latinos in El Centro mainly consisted of dual citizens and permanent resident card (green card) holders. Illegal immigrants tended to go through Imperial County instead of staying in Imperial County.^[14]

Education[link]

Within its boundary, there are three school districts – McCabe Union Elementary School District, El Centro School District and The Central Union High School District.^[21]

El Centro has 11 Elementary schools, 3 Middle/Junior High schools and 3 High Schools:

Elementary schools[link]

• De Anza Magnet School^[22]
• Desert Garden Elementary School^[22]
• Harding Elementary School^[22]
• McCabe Elementary School^[23]
• McKinley Elementary School^[22]
• Margaret Hedrick Elementary School^[22] (named after a woman who had been teaching and working in schools for 55 years, 35 of them in the El Centro School system).^[24]
• Martin Luther King Jr Elementary School^[22]
• Meadows Elementary School^[21]
• Lincoln Elementary School^[22]
• Sunflower Elementary^[22]
• Washington Elementary School^[22]
• St. Mary's Catholic School

Middle and junior high schools[link]

• Corfman Middle School (Grades 4–8)^[23]
• Kennedy Middle School^[22]
• Woodrow Wilson Junior High^[22]
• St. Mary's Catholic School

High schools[link]

The Central Union High School District includes two four-year comprehensive high schools(Central Union and Southwest) and one alternative education school (Desert Oasis). The school district's 3,450 students are supported by more than 350 certified and classified staff. The District is governed by a five member Board of Trustees.^[15]

• Central Union High School^[25] (Central Union was established near the time when the city was established and celebrated its 100th year in 2008.)
• Desert Oasis High School^[25]
• Southwest High School^[25]

Colleges and universities[link]

Opportunities to attend college are available through Imperial Valley College, a local 2-year college, and an extension of San Diego State University located in Calexico, CA. San Diego State University's Calexico Campus offers a variety of Bachelors and Masters degrees.

Transportation[link]

Freeways and highways[link]

There are three major highways that serve El Centro. Interstate 8 connects San Diego to the west and Yuma, Arizona to the east. California State Route 86 and California State Route 111 parallel each other as they go north to Brawley before running along the west and east shores of the Salton Sea, respectively, on their way to the Palm Springs area. Going south from El Centro, Highway 86 terminates at Highway 111 before the latter runs to Calexico and Mexicali, Mexico.

Public transportation[link]

Imperial Valley Transit is the primary provider of mass transportation in the Imperial Valley. Formed in 1989 with just 3 buses and serving just 3000 people per month, the agency now currently serves more than 45,000 riders within the area per month.

Airports[link]

Imperial County Airport is located in nearby Imperial. Service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.^[26] The nearest large international airports are San Diego International Airport and Mexicali International Airport.

Politics[link]

El Centro is operated by a council/manager form of government. The members of the City Council also sit as the Community Development Commission (Commission) and Redevelopment Agency (Agency) governing boards. The City Manager is empowered as the Executive Director of the Commission and Agency.^[15]

In the state legislature El Centro is located in the 40th Senate District, represented by Democrat Juan Vargas, and in the 80th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Manuel Perez. Federally, El Centro is located in California's 51st congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +7^[27] and is represented by Democrat Bob Filner.

References[link]

External links[link]

Southern California portal

Find more about El Centro on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• City of El Centro website
• El Centro Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau
• El Centro Earthquake 1940
• El Centro travel guide from Wikitravel

Articles Relating to El Centro v t e City of El Centro History Transportation Culture Landmarks Demographics Notable peopleCity Council Public schools Imperial County & El Centro metropolitan area San Diego-Imperial, California California United States v t e Southern Border Region Counties San Diego Imperial Global city 1.2 million San Diego Major cities 100k-200k Chula Vista Oceanside Escondido Carlsbad Cities and towns 25k-100k El Cajon El Centro Encinitas Calexico Fallbrook Imperial Beach La Mesa La Presa National City Poway San Marcos Santee Spring Valley Vista Cities and towns under 25k Alpine Bombay Beach Bonita Bostonia Brawley Casa de Oro-Mount Helix Calipatria Coronado Desert Shores Heber Holtville Imperial Lakeside Lemon Grove Niland Ocotillo Palo Verde Ramona Rancho San Diego Salton City Salton Sea Beach Seeley Solana Beach Westmorland Winter Gardens Winterhaven Bodies of water Alamo River Colorado River Mission Bay New River Salton Sea San Diego Bay San Diego River San Luis Rey River Santa Margarita River Sweetwater River Tijuana River Landforms Colorado Desert Chocolate Mountains Algodones Dunes Regions North County Borrego South Bay East County San Diego Imperial Valley Southern Border Region v t e Municipalities and communities of Imperial County, California, United States County seat: El Centro Cities Brawley Calexico Calipatria El Centro Holtville Imperial Westmorland CDPs Bombay Beach Desert Shores Heber Niland Ocotillo Palo Verde Salton City Salton Sea Beach Seeley Winterhaven Unincorporated communities Acolita Alamorio Amos Andrade Anza Araz Junction Bard Bertram Bonds Corner Boulder Park Cactus Citrus View Clyde Coolidge Springs Coyote Wells Curlew Date City Dixieland Dunes Edgar Elmore Desert Ranch Estelle Felicity Fondo Frink Fuller Glamis Gordons Well Hovley Imperial Gables Iris Kane Spring Meloland Mesquite Moss Mount Signal Mundo Munyon Obregon Ogilby Orita Paymaster Landing Perrys Corner Picacho Plaster City Pope Rico Rockwood Ross Corner Ruthven Sandia Slab City Tortuga Truckhaven Verdant Watermans Corner Wiest Wilsie Wister Indian reservations Fort Yuma Indian Reservation Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation Ghost towns Araz Barnes Bernice Bradtmoore Butlers Colorado Concepcíon Eastside Gleason Hazelwood Highline Indian Wells Keystone Laguna Laparra Lano Mayflower Mobile No Mirage Paringa Picacho Basin Potholes Sackett's Wells Sellew Shamrock Silsbee Squeaky Springs v t e California county seats Consolidated city-county San Francisco Municipalities Alturas Auburn Bakersfield Colusa Crescent City El Centro Eureka Fairfield Fresno Hanford Hollister Jackson Lakeport Los Angeles Madera Martinez Marysville Merced Modesto Napa Nevada City Oakland Oroville Placerville Red Bluff Redding Redwood City Riverside Sacramento Salinas San Bernardino San Diego San Jose San Luis Obispo San Rafael Santa Ana Santa Barbara Santa Cruz Santa Rosa Sonora Stockton Susanville Ukiah Ventura Visalia Willows Woodland Yreka Yuba City CDPs Bridgeport Downieville Independence Mariposa Markleeville Quincy San Andreas Weaverville

Centro (Italian, Portuguese and Spanish for center [centre], also downtown) may refer to:

Places:

• Centro Region, one of the regions of Portugal
• Centro (municipality), a municipality in the Mexican state of Tabasco

• Centro (Niterói), a neighborhood of Niterói in Brazil
• Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre in Brazil
• Centro (Rio de Janeiro), (the downtown) neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
• Centro Habana, Cuba
• Centro (Mexico City), Mexico
• Centro, Mandaue City, a barrio in The Philippines
• Centro, San Jose, center of San Jose, Costa Rica
• Centro (Madrid), Spain
• Centro, Montevideo, downtown barrio of Montevideo, Uruguay

Companies:

• Centro Properties Group, a retail property developer, owner and manager in Australia, United States of America and New Zealand
• Centro (company), a company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Cultural:

• Centro Asturiano de México
• Centro Cultural Bella Época, Mexico
• Centro Cultural de la Raza, a cultural center in San Diego, California, USA
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain
• Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center, Puerto Rico
• El Centro Cultural de Mexico, a community space in Santa Ana, Orange County, California, USA
• El Centro de la Raza, a cultural center in Seattle, Washington, USA

Transport:

• Centro, the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority in the United States
• Centro, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive in the United Kingdom
• Plaxton Centro, a bus body built by Plaxton in the UK

Shopping:

• Centro Properties Group, a retail property developer, owned and managed in Australia, United States of America and New Zealand
• CentrO, a shopping mall in Oberhausen, Germany
• Centro, a new shopping mall in Klang, Malaysia, containing a fitness center and a bank

Media:

• CENTRO Tampa, a Spanish-language newspaper in Tampa, Florida, USA
• Centro Digital Pictures, a digital production company in Hong Kong

Products:

• Palm Centro

See also[link]

• El Centro (disambiguation)
• La Center (disambiguation)
• La Center, Kentucky
• La Center, Washington
• La Center, Los Angeles

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Israel Houghton
Background information
Also known as	Israel & New Breed
Born	(1971-05-19) May 19, 1971 (age 41) Oceanside, California, United States
Genres	Contemporary Christian, gospel, contemporary worship
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, producer, arranger
Instruments	Guitar, piano
Years active	1997—present
Labels	Integrity
Associated acts	Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith
Website	israelhoughton.net

Israel Houghton (pronounced, hoh’-tin) (born May 19, 1971) is an American Christian singer and worship leader, mostly known for his cross-cultural style of Christian music that fuses elements from gospel, jazz and rock. Houghton is usually credited as Israel & New Breed and currently signed to Integrity Music. Houghton is a worship leader at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. "All Around" is on the Digital Praise PC game Guitar Praise.

Musical career[link]

Recording career[link]

He has earned two gold-selling albums, six Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Award, and four Grammy® Awards—for "Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album" for The Power of One, “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” for A Deeper Level, “Best Traditional Gospel Album” for Alive In South Africa, and “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” for Love God, Love People.

Production career[link]

Israel produced an album by Michael Gungor called "Bigger Than My Imagination". This album was described as "one of the year's best worship albums" in a 2003 Christianity Today review.^[1]

Other performances[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2009)

He has served as worship leader for the Promise Keepers and Champions for Christ events, as well as the Hillsong Conference 2006—2010, and Hillsong Conference Europe 2008-2010. Israel currently serves as a worship leader (alongside Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, Steve Crawford and Da'dra Crawford-Greathouse) at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, pastored by Joel Osteen.

Israel and New Breed accompanied Alicia Keys at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards for a performance of George Michael's "Freedom '90."

Israel and New Breed performed at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, taking part in a segment saluting Gospel music, alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin and BeBe Winans.

Israel also sang with Michael W Smith on his 2008 Album, "A New Hallelujah", recorded at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Other recordings[link]

• "Champions for Christ" - Hi5 (Worship Leader, 2002)
• "Where Are the Fathers?" from He-Motions (EMI Gospel, 2004)
• "Send Me to the Nations" from A Wing & A Prayer (EMI Gospel, 2003)
• Lakewood Live: We Speak to Nations (Integrity, 2002)
• Lakewood Live: Cover the Earth (Integrity, 2004)
• Lakewood Live: The Gift
• Lakewood Live: Free to Worship
• Free Chapel Live: Moving Forward
• Lakewood Live: Hope for Today Worship^[2]
• Free Chapel Live: Power of the Cross (Integrity, 2009)
• New Breed Live: Generation Love (2009)
• Free Chapel Live: Echo

Awards[link]

Personal life[link]

He is of mixed heritage, Jamaican and French-as told by him personally-and was raised in a Mexican-American neighborhood. He and his wife Meleasa, and his three children, Mariah, Israel 'Sonny Boy' and Milan 'Lillie' currently reside in Houston, Texas.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

• "Dove Award Recipients for 2005". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
• "Dove Award Recipients for 2006". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
• "38th Annual Dove Award Recipients". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
• "49th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners List". Published by The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
• Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 438. ISBN 1-56563-679-1. 

External links[link]

• Israel Houghton's website
• Biography by Israel's Label
• CBN Interview with Israel Houghton
• Israel & New Breed at Allmusic
• Israel Houghton at the Internet Movie Database
• Israel Houghton at the Two Days of Hope conference

Juan Muñoz
Juan Muñoz last work, in Porto Portugal
Born	(1953-06-17)June 17, 1953 Madrid
Died	August 28, 2001(2001-08-28) (aged 48) Ibiza
Occupation	Sculptor, radio script writer

Juan Muñoz (June 17, 1953^[1] – August 28, 2001) was a Spanish sculptor, working primarily in paper maché, resin and bronze. He was also interested in the auditory arts and created compositions for the radio. He was a self-described "storyteller".^[2] In 2000, Muñoz was awarded Spain's major Premio Nacional de Bellas Artes in recognition of his work; he died shortly after, in 2001.

Personal life[link]

Juan Muñoz was born in 1953, the second of seven brothers, into a prosperous, educated family in Madrid. He was enrolled in a local school but became bored and was expelled, so his father retained a poet who was also an art critic to provide lessons, which gave Muñoz an awareness of modernism.^[3] He grew up under Franco's repressive regime. In the 1970s, he moved to England to study at Croydon College and the Central School of Art and Design.^[4] There he met his wife, sculptor Cristina Iglesias, with whom he has two children. In 1982 he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to the United States to study at the Pratt Institute in New York.^[2] He spoke an idiosyncratic English, learned from his experience as a waiter in New York restaurants.^[5]

Career[link]

His first exhibition was in 1984 in the Fernando Vijande gallery of Madrid. Since then, his works have been frequently exhibited in Europe and other parts of the world. At the beginning of the 1990s, Juan Muñoz began breaking the rules of traditional sculpture by sculpting works in a "narrative" manner which consisted of creating smaller than life-size figures in an atmosphere of mutual interaction. Muñoz's sculptures often invite the spectator to relate to them, making the viewer feel as if they have discreetly become a part of the work of art. His slate-gray or wax-colored monochrome figures create a sort of discreetness due to their lack of individuality, but that absence of individuality questions the viewer, perhaps even so much as to make the viewer uncomfortable. When asked his occupation, Muñoz would respond simply that he was a "storyteller."^[4]

Muñoz's sculptures were created primarily with paper maché, resin and bronze. In addition to sculpture, Muñoz was interested in the creation of auditory arts, creating some works for the radio. One of his more recognized auditory works was a collaboration with British composer Gavin Bryars in 1992 called A Man in a Room, Gambling, which consisted of Muñoz explaining card tricks over a composition by Bryars. The pieces, ten segments all shorter than five minutes, were played on BBC Radio 3.

In one unpublished radio program (Third Ear, 1992), Juan Muñoz proposed that there are two things which are impossible to represent: the present and death, and that the only way to arrive at them was by their absence.

In 2000, Muñoz was awarded Spain's major Premio Nacional de Bellas Artes, about which Muñoz said, "I think I'll buy a watch."^[2]

Juan Muñoz died suddenly of cardiac arrest caused by an aneurism of the esophagus and an internal hemorrhage at the age of 48 in his summer home in Santa Eulària des Riu, Ibiza, in 2001.

Created by Juan Munoz in 1999, this work celebrates the Tyne Salmon.^[6] The 2008 Tyne Bluetooth Salmon Trail Cubes^[7] are seen with the 22 bronze life-size figures that command a view of South Shields Harbour and the Tyne Piers.

He has been called "the most significant of the first generation of artists to achieve maturity in post-Franco Spain, and one of the most complex and individual artists working today."^[2] His works are displayed in such galleries as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Guggenheim Museum in New York, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago,^[8] and the Tate Modern in London.^[2]